Gutting the former M2M on 3rd Avenue

In case you missed our post from the holiday weekend ... M2M has closed at 55 Third Ave. after 15 years in business here at the corner of 11th Street.

However! The Asian-specialty story will return, eventually occupying some of the long-empty storefronts on Third Avenue and Ninth Street later this year. (For now, M2M is open at their location on Waverly Place.)

As for No. 55, workers are already gutting the space...


[Photo today by William Klayer]

Wagamama will be building out the space for an outpost of the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants.

Previously on EV Grieve:
M2M has closed for now on 3rd Avenue; new storefront coming 2 blocks away

Reader report: M2M to move; Wagamama on the way

M2M has closed for now on 3rd Avenue; new storefront coming 2 blocks away

As we reported, M2M was closing on Third Avenue at 11th Street at the end of the business day yesterday.

This morning, the owners of the Asian market put up signage with an announcement about their new East Village location ...



As you can see, M2M will eventually be moving two blocks to the south ... to the long-empty spaces in the retail strip of NYU's Alumni Hall...



The corner space was home to Birdbath Bakery until the summer of 2014. Next door, Citi Habitats moved out in June 2014. No word how many of these storefronts M2M will take. There are two other empty slots that the Subway sandwich shop and Saint's Alp Teahouse previously rented.

As for the former M2M space, Wagamama, the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants, is coming here soon. Before M2M opened in 2002, the storefront housed an OMG jeans outlet.

For now you can get your M2M fix at their Waverly Place store.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

[Updated] M2M is closing this weekend on 3rd Avenue

M2M, the Asian convenient store that opened in 2002 on Third Avenue at 11th Street, is closing tomorrow, workers confirmed.

The closure was expected at some point early this year after Wagamama, the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants, signed a lease last summer for a retail space here at 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor, recently luxurified building.

In 2014, these commercial spaces hit the market for $25.5 million. The listing at the time noted that M2M's lease was up in 2017. (Next door, The Smith's lease is through 2027.)

Last summer, an EVG reader said that an M2M worker divulged that the grocery would be moving when the lease was up. "The employee was very talkative about it. Said it was going to be within five blocks of the original store and probably going to be bigger. Still trying to figure out their likely spot because of limited spaces that size in the area."

So far, there aren't any signs up in the store about either a closure or relocation. A worker was noncommittal about a move, only saying that the store was closing.

As for Wagamama, there hasn't been any announcement about when they open in this location. (They were up for a beer-wine license via CB3 last fall.) The first NYC Wagamama — there are more than 140 worldwide — opened in November on Fifth Avenue at 26th Street.

H/T Steven!

Updated 2/19

Check out this post for news on where M2M is relocating.

A few details about the Wagamama coming to 3rd Avenue

[EVG file photo]

As previously reported, Wagamama, the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants, is coming to 55 Third Ave.

The applicants opening this location are on CB3's SLA committee docket this month for a beer-wine license. (This item, however, will NOT be heard during Monday's meeting.)

The questionnaire (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website offers a few details about the space.

For starters, the hours will be 11 a.m. to midnight daily. In addition, it looks to be a decent-size food space with 23 tables seating 93 patrons plus "12 stools by food counter." There is also a bar with 19 stools, per the questionnaire. (This Wagamama will also employ 40 people, the documents show.)

This will be the second Wagamama location in Manhattan. The first is opening on Fifth Avenue in a 3-story space overlooking Madison Square Park.

The Japanese-inspired, London-based chain of pan-Asian casual eateries (as the Post put it) has 140 locations around the world.

The current tenant, M2M, the Asian grocery that opened in 2002 here at the corner of 11th Street, is expected to relocate in the neighborhood when the lease is up early next year. No word when Wagamama might open then.

Reader report: M2M to move; Wagamama on the way

Back in June, the Commercial Observer reported that Wagamama, the London-based chain of Japanese restaurants, signed a lease for a retail space at 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor building that recently went through a luxurious upgrade.

No 55, which is between 10th Street and 11th Street, is currently home to two retail tenants: M2M, the Asian grocery that opened in 2002, and The Smith. Reps for both businesses said that they were not closing, as Gothamist reported at the time. (The Observer article didn't mention which business would be departing.)

In 2014, these commercial spaces hit the market for $25.5 million. The listing at the time noted that M2M's lease was up in 2017. (The Smith's lease is through 2027.)

Now, an EVG reader says that an M2M worker divulged that the grocery would be moving when the lease is up. "The employee was very talkative about it. Said it was going to be within five blocks of the original store and probably going to be bigger. Still trying to figure out their likely spot because of limited spaces that size in the area."

Hmm. First, it's nice to hear that M2M will be sticking around the area. So what are some possible landing spots?

Here are two: 1) The former Met Foods on Third Avenue between 16th Street and 17th Street and 2) The former Capital One® branch on the southeast corner of Third Avenue and 14th Street.

Your guesses?

Meanwhile, Wagamama was on CB3's SLA docket for a beer-wine license this month. However, Wagamama has withdrawn from the proceedings this time around.